Caged tiger paraded at Miami high school prom

"How shameful for Christopher Columbus High school ...showing its students on prom night who is the "king of the jungle " this poor tiger was used as an exotic amusement for the mindless teenagers who were present".

However, the party also included more controversial "entertainment": a display of live animals, included a lemur, macaws and a tiger. Videos and photos from the night were shared on Facebook by a family member of one of the students and it led to a huge furore online.

She also questioned how the school allowed this and urged everyone to ask, "DID THIS TIGER ASK TO ATTEND PROM?"

In an interview with NBC Miami, the student's mother, Maria Del Carmen Castellanos, said the decision to use the animals showed a lack of sensitivity.

Added Magill: "When you see a tiger's ears go to the side, or go flat back, that is not a good thing".

The prom, hosted at a hotel near Miami International Airport, featured several animals including a caged tiger, a lemur, two macaws and an African fennec fox.

"Tigers are wild animals". School officials said that two police officers had been stationed inside the ballroom and that neither the students nor the animals were in any danger at any time.

"The animals were provided by facilities that are licensed by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission", the school said in a statement to the Herald.

"The saddest part of it all is teaching the children that there is no merit to the life of that animal - that that animal doesn't deserve any better", Castellanos said.